Christian and Ian Get Engaged

Sometime shortly after Christmas 2014, I received a message from a man in LaGrande, Oregon. He was attracted to me, and I thought it was a clickbait. But, we exchange photos and messages, followed by phone calls.

On December 4th, 2015, we met face to face. He was dripping wet from his walk to our meeting spot. Our first date was quite an event; a story for another time. At the end of the date, who would have thought we would still be dating years later.

In August 2021, I asked Ian if he would wear an engagement ring if I bought one. This was a way to test the water before jumping in. This prompted a several month expedition of looking at rings. We narrowed it down to a few rings. We were discussing how we would do an engagement. The plan looked like we would do it on our anniversary.

I reached out to my brother and asked when he might be able to come over for a weekend so Ian and I could take a vacation. He replied and said 10/22 – 10/24 would work. I agreed, and started planning a weekend to remember. I picked a hotel, a restaurant, and a ring. Let the deception begin.

To keep Ian in the dark, I continued to send pictures of rings. I sent plans for possible venues for an engagement party. I kept talking about an Anniversary engagement. No mention of Gabe’s visit to anyone. Excitement grew! On the morning of 10/22, these two wonderful people walked in the door…

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Ian had no idea they were coming. The more he talked to Katie, the more he became aware that this was planned. I’ve learned that he was messaging some friends of his thoughts that this would be the day, but he didn’t know when. So, mid-day, Ian and I head out. We had a small lunch at the Mongolian BBQ. We chose that one because we didn’t have mom, and she doesn’t like it. From there, we just drove around and admired the colorful trees.

Our next stop was ABU Games. Honestly, I had only a vague idea where ABU was. I was just about to ask Ian where it was, and bam, it was in front of me. He mentioned he used to wander around in there when he waited for the bus. We toured the showroom, I found a few games I might actually enjoy. We picked up some packs of game cards. From there, we stopped at a few stores for groceries then checked in at Hotel 43. (There’s a story here, but you’ll have to wait for the party.) Once settled, we headed over to the Gas Lantern Drinking Company for several pre-dinner cocktails.

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Back to Hotel 43 for a shower and change of clothes. Down to dinner at Chandlers. When we sat, Ian mentioned that he was certain that I was going to propose today, but had resolved that maybe this is really just a weekend date. He looked like I had taken his puppy away with disappointment, but I didn’t give in yet.

Just before the soufflé was served, I did this:

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The wonderful people at Hotel 43 ensured there would be a continued surprise after dinner. We returned to the room fully filled with wonderful food and drink. Upon opening the door, we were greeted with…

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We spent a little time updating our social connections, and went to sleep. Yup, just sleep. It was so nice.

The first day as an engaged couple, we started at BACON and then, did a walking tour of downtown.

We met some of Ian’s friends for lunch at Bombay Grill (sorry, no photo). We chatted for over an hour there, then moved to Meriwether Cider for continued socializing. We love the folks at Meriwether. We then moved to The Mode for an appetizer and The Matador for dinner.

This was the best weekend ever. And, I’m engaged to the best guy ever. I love you Ian.